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Building a modern home in the woods

johnnyrodgers.is

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Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#311

Post by chris1993 »

cols wrote: post #262
rootusrootus wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny, I've actually considered buying property in that area now that it's been cleared of houses. With a bit of planning, it should be possible to make it more resistant to another wildfire roaring through. I'd still build myself a couple of contingency plans anyway, of course, and buy good insurance.

Good luck to you! It is truly beautiful out there, even still. If you clear out an acre or two around your house and have some kind of fire line you'd probably be fine. I'd be concerned about the road to your house and how accessible it is to a major hwy. Several folks died after being trapped on North Fork Rd and it's not hard to see why. It's a super tight, two lane road that goes for miles and miles. After the fir…

Unfortunately even a clear couple of acres won't protect against ember attack. The house can be built to be fully fire-resistant and you're still faced with stay-or-go decisions when the next fire arrives.

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#312

Post by glxxyz »

thatfrenchguy wrote: post #210

First comment from my partner was “I don’t know if this is the Parasite house of an Apple Store” :-). But really, so many weird decisions here that make no sense: why would you put your kid’s bed next to your bedroom in a new build? Why the bathrooms next to the bedrooms for your kid? Why cement floors and no floor heating? How did you end up at 400A/96kw of service (my car charges slower than that!). Why not buildin…

That exposed wood with no rain protection will age terribly. I've seen quite a few houses for sale with this sort of design that probably looked good new too.

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#313

Post by brailsafe »

That Slack money must be nice ;)

With no intention of attacking the author, but as someone renting in Vancouver, I think excluding costs while regularly hinting that they didn't have much of a budget seems a bit off, if not even just to add a transparent datapoint to the corpus of potential Canadian/Vancouver salaries that have been stagnating for years, while Johnny and his family likely saw massive appreciation on their duplex between what seems like 2014 and now. It's not easy to support a family in this city, so no matter how much you make, owning anything and having two children is going to be tight, and I wouldn't assume you're being disingenuous about that, but if you're cool, break down the actual overall costs. Not necessarily what the specific contractors charged you, but probably an approximation of what your take home salary is and what it cost to build. It wouldn't be terribly difficult to geogeuss the location and property assessment, but it would be slightly more charitable to be upfront.

> A lot of people dream of building a modern home. Or rather, a lot of people dream of living in a modern home. A place of their own, with the people they love, surrounded by functional beauty and considerate form.

A lot of people in this city, even in tech, couldn't dream of owning anything, but this article has the potential to be inspiring. The median salary earned in Vancouver at a tolerable savings rate would require 35 years to own a detached home.

> I hope you’re able to fulfill your own dreams too.

Well...

Edit: It was trivial to track this information down, it's named in the article. I won't reveal the address, but I'll add the cost of land and current value of the property if the author doesn't. Overall the property gained at least 1.8M in taxable value as far as public records are concerned, but it would be awesome to get a sense of what it actually cost to build.

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#314

Post by exhilaration »

downrightmike wrote: post #183
MezzoDelCammin wrote: post #50

"The bigger issue was that the energy demands for the house, which included hot water heating for the pool and hot tub, outstripped the electrical supply we could get on a rural residential build: 400A" Am I the only one who almost spit out his coffee when reading this paragraph? I mean, building a remote home in the middle of a forest is a cool idea, sure. But then end up feeding the whole thing with 400A worth of e…

There are highly efficient heat pump powered water heaters, going out anywhere remote, these and other heat pump systems should really be used. This is a really great overview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J52mDjZzto&t=1840s

I knew that was a Technology Connections video before clicking on it :)

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#315

Post by xyzzyz »

dekerta wrote: post #291
xyzzyz wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regular houses these days are also commonly built with 2x6s for external walls.

That might depend where you live. 2x6 is standard here in my part of Canada, but that's just for added insulation, not for any structural reason. Older homes were built with 2x4 exteriors

Yes, it’s being forced all around by new insulation codes. Structurally, 2x4 walls are plenty enough.

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#316

Post by gdubs »

adamcharnock wrote: post #174
starik36 wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very cool. Are there curtains on the window to prevent people from seeing where you are sleeping?

Hehe, no. There is no-one to see in. It is because I made a miscalculation in the house design. I was hoping that the awning would prevent the worst of the summer sun from hitting the windows, but it did not. So I got some custom canvas made up which I can use to keep the sun out. [1] [1]: https://www.dropbox.com/s/bbe9z3risocrl5e/IMG_20190909_12531... Edit: Clarity

Our large west facing windows get way too hot so we had this 3M film installed that essentially tints the windows and blocks UV. I’m a HUGE fan of it — in many ways it actually improved the view out the window by reducing glare.

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#317

Post by bduerst »

qbasic_forever wrote: post #229
folkrav wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Snow removal must be... fun.

I can't believe no one at any step of the process gave them a warning about flat roofs, huge glass windows, having a pool, etc. in frigid mountain areas with tons of snow. I feel like there must be a lot more to this story, like cycling through different architects and engineers until one would finally not tell them the idea was bonkers.

It's also weirdly not mentioned in the article - the lack of any of this type of feedback, especially considering it's about building a home in the Canadian woods.

(Love your username, btw)

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#318

Post by ilamont »

chimen wrote: post #167

What's modern about that house? Ridiculous amount of electricity required, flat roof in an area where snow is expected for a big portion of the year, heated outside pool, very remote but VERY dependant on electricity, internet and TV must be fun. It all starts kicking in pretty fast once you move in and realise your kids grow up alone because there's nobody in their age group for miles, no days when you feel like doi…

I was thinking about the kids, too. Children need real and regular contact with classmates and peers, as the pandemic has demonstrated. Having a luxe bedroom and a heated pool in the middle of the wilderness doesn't make up for extended periods of loneliness and isolation.

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#319

Post by nybble41 »

wrycoder wrote: post #187
rhacker wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's funny how removed we are from reality. Even if $15/month might be cheaper than a propane bill, it would be far far more expensive against the planet to heat it with gas/coal burned at a factory 100 miles away, converted to electricity, then converted back to heat inside the spa water heater.

I think that an air/water heat pump on the tub, with say a COP of 8, would be less expensive to operate than propane or straight electric. But, I couldn't justify the capital expense. (Small hot tubs are electric.) I like my wood/propane mix for heating, because it's immune to power outages. At some point I'll get too old to cut/split/haul wood, though, and will have to figure something else out. I'm not sure why the…

> Small hot tubs are electric.

S̶p̶e̶c̶i̶f̶i̶c̶a̶l̶l̶y̶,̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶s̶e̶ ̶w̶h̶o̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶a̶w̶a̶r̶e̶,̶ ̶s̶m̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶h̶o̶t̶ ̶t̶u̶b̶s̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶y̶p̶i̶c̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶f̶r̶i̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶t̶e̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶t̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶i̶r̶c̶u̶l̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶p̶u̶m̶p̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶d̶e̶d̶i̶c̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶w̶a̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶t̶e̶r̶s̶.̶ ̶Y̶o̶u̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶a̶d̶d̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶e̶p̶a̶r̶a̶t̶e̶,̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶e̶f̶f̶i̶c̶i̶e̶n̶t̶,̶ ̶w̶a̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶r̶u̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶u̶m̶p̶s̶ ̶l̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶t̶e̶n̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶p̶l̶e̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶r̶e̶p̶l̶a̶c̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶k̶i̶n̶d̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶a̶n̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶.̶

Never mind. Apparently I was misinformed. The circulation pump moves the water through the heater, but isn't the primary heat source.

Re: Building a modern home in the woods

#320

Post by bduerst »

OxO4 wrote: post #298
qbasic_forever wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't believe no one at any step of the process gave them a warning about flat roofs, huge glass windows, having a pool, etc. in frigid mountain areas with tons of snow. I feel like there must be a lot more to this story, like cycling through different architects and engineers until one would finally not tell them the idea was bonkers.

Not defending the other design choices, but there are places in snowy mountain areas where (almost) flat roofs are common [0]. [0] https://www.davos.ch/en/information/portrait-image/storybook...

Seems like the flat roofs in Davos were a conscious decision to safeguard against avalanches.
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